


We Fight to Shine (Together)

by Witchy_Bumbling_Bee



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby and Carrie and Trevor are siblings, Bobby is Not Trevor Wilson, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Reggie Has ADHD (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Has Bad Parents (Julie and The Phantoms), The Boys Are Alive, Trevor sucks (Julie and The Phantoms)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27342634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witchy_Bumbling_Bee/pseuds/Witchy_Bumbling_Bee
Summary: AU:In 2020, Trevor Wilson is a traitor and Bobby is a boy who pines. Sunset Curve needs a rebrand and Julie needs to reconnect to music. When Reggie gets hurt and winds up in the wrong house, Julie meets Luke. A transfer of schools and a few mishaps later, the gang discovers how well they work.
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson/ Nick, Bobby | Trevor Wilson/ Reggie/ Nick, Bobby | Trevor Wilson/Reggie, Flynn/Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Nick/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	1. The One where Reggie Runs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie gets diagnosed and a fight occurs  
> The band meets Julie  
> Ray is an awesome person

It has been three weeks since Trevor had stolen Luke's songs and published them as his own. Sunset Curve hadn't practiced once since they practiced at the Wilson's house. The four boys hadn't actually spoken much between school and Alex's recent grounding and Reggie's recent visits with a psychiatrist at the school's wish. Reggie missed his friends but things were different now. 

The office walls were covered in pictures of different flowers. Reggie counted twelve different ones while his parents glared at each other. The psychiatrist finally looked up from her computer after spending ten minutes typing in stiff silence.  
"The tests were conclusive, Reginald has attention- deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. To be frank, I am shocked he wasn't diagnosed much sooner. I'd like to continue meeting with him for the next few weeks as well as put him on a prescription."  
Reggie feels like he's underwater. He doesn't hear the next few minutes, and he doesn't even remember going to the pharmacy around the corner from his house. He'd always known he wasn't like the rest of his friends and part of him is relieved. Now he knows. He's not stupid, his brain just works different.  
"REGINALD FOREST!" The walls come crashing down when his dad's angry voice rings through the house.  
"Sorry Dad."  
"Look at him. Look at what you did to my son. He's an idiot. He's broken and it's your fault Loraine! Had you paid attention to him instead of insisting on that ridiculous job, he'd be normal!"  
"I didn't screw him up! That's all you, Henry! If you didn't drink so much and spent more time with him, he'd be fine."  
Reggie sinks to the ground as the argument about which parent screwed him up worsens. His father heads to the fridge and opens a bottle of beer. When his mother suggests that his father should've worked to provide more for his family, the bottle is thrown across the room and hits Reggie. It shatters and Henry is across the room in a second, picking up his son and shaking him. Reggie doesn't even know what he's saying. Henry tosses him aside when Loraine comes at him and they take their argument across the house. Reggie, in a panic, grabs his backpack and bass before running out the front door. He runs as far as he can before his body gives out. Luckily for him, he thinks, he makes it to the studio. At least he thought it was the studio.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sunset Curve Kings  
the fronter: hey anyone seen reg?  
drum god: no my parents just gave me my phone back  
drum god: last i heard from him was school  
rhythm keeper: he hasn't texted me back since like 3  
the fronter: shit  
the fronter: i was just at his house and  
the fronter: it's a wreck  
the fronter: Loraine's passed out on the couch and Henry's not home  
bass pro: umm i found this phone on this guy? he's passed out in my garage and he looks bad  
rhythm keeper: where are you?  
rhythm keeper: his name's reggie btw, i'm bobby wilson  
bass pro: julie molina, are you one of the wilson triplets? cuz if so, reggie's next door at mine  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bobby trips up the hall as he runs out of the house to get to Reggie. His sister gives him a confused look but shrugs it off as he hops the fence. He doesn't bother knocking as he enters the open garage door, knowing that the Molinas lived on this side of him. The curly haired girl and her father are crowded around Reggie.  
"Hey you need to give him some space, Reg doesn't like to be crowded." They look up at him. "Sorry, that's my bassist. I'm Bobby. Is he okay?"  
"He's bleeding, I think we should take him to the hospital. He hasn't woken up." Julie's dad says, backing up a little bit. Bobby walks over to him and crouches behind Reggie's head.  
"Hey Reg, you gotta wake up." He says softly. The boy groans. "Come on Reg." Bobby's voice cracks. Julie's dad stands up and calls someone. Julie stands there awkwardly.  
"Reggie?"  
"B-Bobby?" He stutters out, eyes opening slowly and closing again.  
"Hey, you gotta stay awake, buddy, we've gotta take you to the hospital."  
"Hurts." Reggie groans.  
"Baby I know, but we gotta make sure your okay. Can you sit up?" Slowly, Bobby coaxes Reggie into an upright position.  
"Tired." He mumbles falling into Bobby's arms.  
"I know. We just gotta get you up." Bobby looks over at Julie. "Hey Julie, can you help me stand him up?"  
It takes the duo five minutes to get Reggie standing between them.  
"Can you kids get him to the car? Victoria is coming to watch Carlos." Julie nods and they eventually get the boy into the SUV. Bobby holds onto his friend and texts the group.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
rhythm keeper: reg is banged up pretty bad, molina's dad is taking us to the hospital- pinned location  
the fronter: shit alex im omw we'll be there soon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Luke sped up the road and parked three houses away from the big white house where Alex lives, seeing as the blonde has to sneak out and seeing the Patterson family house would tip off the Jarvis's. Five minutes pass before the blonde slides into the passenger seat looking pale and anxious.  
"Any updates?"  
"No. Bobby says they just got there." The drive is quick seeing as Alex lived less than four minutes away and the duo rushes into the emergency room. Inside, they see Bobby with a girl and a man, all of them with a little bit of blood down their fronts.  
"Hey guys. This is Julie and Ray Molina. They found Reg in their garage. The doc's with him now, but the nurse was stitching his forehead up when they kicked me out. He's going to be fine. They said he probably has a concussion." Alex paces, not convinced until he can see Reggie with his own eyes. Luke accepts the answer and hugs the older boy. He holds Bobby's hand, since both boys were highly affectionate and were pretty physical people, and turns to the Molina's.  
"Thank you for taking Reg. I'm Luke and that's Alex."  
"Do you know what happened?" The bandmates share a look and that seems to be all the confirmation Ray needs before the man is taking a step away. Several hospital workers speak to Ray, but the teenagers are focused on each other.  
"I'm Julie." She says after an awkward moment of unsure silence.  
"We know. You used to be in the music program with us. Friends with Flynn and Willie right?"  
"Yeah." Bobby sits down beside Julie and Luke sits across from them while Alex anxiously paces in the middle.  
"Dad seems to know, but I need to. What happened to Reggie?" Julie blurts out. She doesn't look or sound like she's judging them, she sounds genuinely concerned so Luke answers honestly.  
"Reggie's parents fight. It gets bad sometimes. I guess he got in the middle of it this time. He usually comes to one of our houses after. But we're banned from Alex's and I live the furthest away. Plus Bobby and Reggie are closer so he was probably aiming for our old studio." The way Luke says "closer" has Julie looking at the boy with a small smile.  
"Yeah, Reg and I grew up together. We used to be thick as thieves, him and my brother and I. When we were little, you were actually my sister's best friend too. Don't you remember?"  
"Oh, right. Robbie Reggie and Revor. Carrie and I used to try to get you all to play dress up or dance and you never would." The pair reminisce on small childhood details without mentioning the other two members of the Wilson Three. It seems everyone had issues with Trevor and Carrie Wilson.  
"So how did you form Sunset Curve then?"  
"Alex and Luke have been friends since they were in diapers. Luke picked up music when he was like six, and Alex started drumming for real like five years ago. We met in music class and just meshed well. We're probably gonna rebrand though since-" Luke glares at him so Bobby stops.  
"Have you played in a while Julie? I remember you used to shred the piano."  
"No. I haven't played since I dropped the music program. I'd rather not talk about it." They sit in tense silence until the doctor and Ray walk towards them.  
"Hey kiddos, Reggie is wide awake now. He has twelve stitches and will need to take it easy for the week, but he's going to be just fine. We're going to keep him overnight to monitor him, but you are all welcome to go see him. I recommend not overwhelming him, so keep it down and keep it brief." He leads the group of five through a few sets of doors and into an elevator to the third floor. He points out Reggie's room and leaves them be. Bobby enters first, without checking with anyone else.  
"Hey." Reggie's voice is quiet and his head is wrapped.  
"Hey? Reggie you- why didn't you call me or Luke or Alex to pick you up? You know we would've dropped everything." Bobby looks sad. Reggie feels guilty.  
"I'm sorry. I didn't think, I just grabbed my stuff and ran. I thought I was fine."  
"You said you would tell me if it got bad again. What set it off this time?" Bobby asks gently, noticing that the others had yet to enter the room.  
"The school sent me to a psychiatrist and she's been running tests on me for months now. Today she told us the results. On top of my dyslexia, I have ADHD and am apparently on the autism spectrum. She gave us a packet Mom threw in my bag and some pills that I have to take in the mornings. It really pissed Dad off. I was in the way and Dad's aim sucks." Bobby feels the air get sucked out of him, because the Jennings were awful parents for not noticing sooner and for hurting his boy so. Bobby knew Reggie was wired differently, but it never bugged him. He spent his whole explaining things to Reggie and he would happily help him for the rest of his life. Before he can stop himself, he hugs him.  
"I'm sorry, Reggie. But at least you know now. At least you can get the help you deserve. I'm with you. Always, you know that."  
"Thank you." He whispers.

The other four pile in, Julie and her dad standing back as the boys hug and Bobby explains what happened to everyone with Reggie's approval. Ray surprises everyone by speaking up.  
"Tomorrow you're getting released into my care when you're discharged. It'll be a temporary thing for now. But I'm not sending you back into that home until I know you'll be safe there. I'm signing all the paperwork later. You don't really get a say, Reggie." Ray had, unknowingly, opened his home to three other wayward boys at his own insistence, but he was not one to let children suffer. He and his late wife were registered emergency foster parents and they had kept many kids over the years. Earlier, Ray had spoken directly to Reggie and he knew the boy wasn't comfortable at home. So now, Ray went from single father of two, to single father of six and band photographer/ videographer, but that would come later.  
First Reggie would need to close his mouth before he attracted all the flies.


	2. The One where Nick Moves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie was settling nicely  
> Nick is just trying to find some peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick clarification:   
> I have ADHD, and am in the process of getting tested for autism, so I am HARDCORE projecting onto Reggie. That being said, this is 100% based in my experience and I am sorry if anything is portrayed in a way that you don't like. This is one person's experience and not the universal thing.

It was October when his dad broke the news that they were moving to LA. If Nick was any other teenager, he would've been angry and probably a little resentful, but they were moving for him. For now, he was just trying to get used to LA weather and adjust to the more laidback style than his last school. In the spring, he'd be joining their music program and trying out for the lacrosse team. He'd moved too late for anything else and Nick hates baseball, so for now he was in the off season. 

Nick had finally gotten into a routine, it was easy. Nick was an adaptable person, so Los Feliz was easy to adjust to. Or so he thought. 

The week following Reggie's diagnosis, the entirety of Sunset Curve didn't go to school. A quick explanation to the Patterson's led Ray Molina to be housing three of the boys, while Bobby spent most of his time there as well. When the doctor said that Reggie could go back to school and that his concussion was cleared up. He'd have the stitches in for another nine days. 

"Reg, you sure your ready to go back?" It was widely known that when it was just them, Bobby was the mother of the group. Most assumed it was Alex because he's the anxious one, but when it was just the band, Alex was a major goofball and was as bad at Reggie sometimes. 

"I am so bored. So bored. School will be fine." Reggie brushes him off and heads into the Molina's kitchen where Ray was handing Carlos his lunch. 

"Morning mijos. Ready for today?" Ray asks them. 

"Morning Ray." Bobby says, grabbing an apple and washing it off.

"Morning! We're ready, right B?" Reggie says, picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. Bobby hands him the apple, knowing the other boy couldn't handle much on his stomach so early in the morning. 

"We're gonna get going, gotta pick up Alex and Luke today." 

"Okay, be careful today. Have a good day!" The duo waves as they rush out the door. 

The Wilsons were better off than most families in the neighborhood, so the triplets each had their own car. This turned out to be an even bigger blessing after Trevor's betrayal. Alex was closer so they got him first, since he went home the night before due to his sister ratting him out to get out of trouble. Luke was closer to the school so they picked him up last. Julie was at her friend Flynn's for hte week, so she was already at school. 

The boys entered the school together and people turned to watch them as they passed, talking about Trevor. That turned quickly into speculation on where they had been for the week and what happened to Reggie's head. The boys kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact. They enter their first class and take their usual seats in the back corner. Trevor's old seat is decidedly empty, the boy opting to sit near the door, surrounded by his new friends. 

A blonde guy enters a moment before the bell sounds and sits in the only empty seat, in Trevor's old one, beside Reggie. The boys share a confused look but the teacher starts talking about the weekly homework. The class lets out a collective sigh when the teacher lets them choose their own groups of five, since there was five topics to cover and twenty kids in the class. The blonde looks over at the band. 

"Hey can I join your group?" He asks. 

"Sure." Luke answers, anyone is better than Trevor, he never did any work anyway. "I'm Luke."  
"Alex, hey."  
"Bobby and that's Reggie." He smiles softly at the blonde boy.  
"Oh I'm Nick." They turn their desks into a semi circle and Alex pulls out his laptop. They spend the rest of the class planning out the project. The bell rings and they wait until the other Wilson leaves before getting up. 

School was well school, but it went without incidence, so when they get out of Bobby's car and go to head inside the Molina house, hearing a piano and a girl singing stops them in their tracks. 

"Is that Julie?" Reggie speaks up.  
"I thought she didn't sing anymore?" Julie finishes singing and the boys can't figure out what to do. Luke decides for them and barges in. 

"You lied to us! You can belt!" Luke says, Julie jumps nearly falling off the bench. 

"You're really good." Alex says. 

"What are you doing out here?" She's defensive. 

"We were going to get some homework done and try a writing session. Can't do Bobby's or Alex's right now, and Mom has book club on Mondays." Luke answers like it's obvious. Julie glares at them and stomps out.

Later, when the other boys had gone home, and it was just the Molina's and Reggie around the kitchen table. Ray's sister in law had dropped off a meal before heading to Pilates. Reggie was still getting used to the idea of family dinners around the table and watching Ray interact with his kids was blowing his mind. He was quiet throughout dinner, a slight headache forming from the hours of listening to Luke ramble about lyrics that objectively made no sense to everyone else. 

"What do you think Reggie?" Ray is talking to him.  
"I- I- I'm sorry." Reggie tenses, realizing he hadn't been paying attention.  
"No big deal, I was just saying Carlos has a game Wednesday and it would be fun to do family dinner at that restaurant down the street afterwards. The game starts at 5."  
"Oh yeah, I'd love to come watch Carlos play. I'm sure the guys would come too if you wanted them to Los." The boy perks up, having taken to the band rather quickly.  
"Please tell them to come! That'd be so cool!" Ray smiles at the boys bonding. 

The family had fallen into a routine, and tonight Reggie was on dish duty while Julie folded laundry. Carlos had already dealt with the trash and recyclables, so he was upstairs showering. Ray was straightening up the living room, listening to the teens sing softly in the kitchen with a smile on his face. He didn't know how long the boy would stay with his family, but he already loved Reggie. He fit really well into the dynamic and he was bringing music back to his little flower. The boy was slowly opening up and Ray knew he is a joy to have around. 

Reggie was the first foster kid that he was keeping since his wife died last year. It seems fitting that the first one would have a passion for music that was lacking in the house without Rose. Ray's heart hurt thinking about Reggie going back to his parents' care, especially due to his reaction at the hearing last week. The judge ruled that while Reggie was adjusting to his new medicine regime and his mother was in rehab for her own alcoholic tendencies and his father was still no where to be found, that Reggie would stay at the Molina's. It was an indefinite stay, but Ray didn't want it to end anytime soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sunset Curve Kings  
the fronter: how's it going reg  
bass pro: its fine. rays chill, carlos is cool and julies nice  
drum god: she say anything else about singing/ playing?  
bass pro: nah its not something she wants to talk about  
bass pro: its about her mom, she died last year and they used to play together  
bass pro: we shouldnt push her but ray did say we could move into the garage for our new rehearsal space

the fronter: sweeeet  
the fronter: we can start practicing this weekend when alexs sentence is up  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The band fell into an easy routine after that. The Molina's household was louder than ever, and slowly Julie was coming back into her voice. By Thursday, Luke had written a new song, one that didn't fit Sunset Curve's old sound. Playing the song for Victoria, Carlos and Ray was fun, but it didn't sound right until Julie herself jumped on the piano when she thought the boys were gone. The boys started playing with her and it just fit.  
"Julie, what's going on?" A girl is at the door, Flynn from dinner the other night at dinner. "Since when did you join Sunset Curve?"  
"Oh no, we were just messing around. Dad said they could use Mom's studio and I was bored waiting on you so I came out here. I've heard them play this song a few times now so I know it. So we were just jamming." Flynn scoffs and walks out. The boys share a confused look. 

Reggie set his bass down and flops onto the couch, his head was starting to hurt again and he was tired. Bobby sat on the other end of the couch, sipping some water. Luke immediately starts writing some more random lyrics, unconcerned with girl drama. Alex fiddles with his drumsticks. 

"So are we asking Julie to join the band?" Reggie asks, readjusting till his head is in Bobby's lap. The other boy plays with his hair gently.  
"Um yes. With her voice and some killer songs, everyone will forget about Sunset Curve and the traitor!" Luke answers. Alex looks at him, because Luke never bothered to ask permission, he just did things as he wished. Normally it was fine, but the band was supposed to make decisions affecting them together.  
"I need to get home. Told Dad I'd be home for dinner and it's already almost 6." Alex gathers up his stuff. Since he had his car today, he all but ran to it. Luke frowns after him but makes no move to follow. Things had been weird between them for a while now. Bobby and Reggie share a knowing look. 

"Is he okay?" Reggie asks tentatively.  
"Yeah. Yeah. His family's just been weird lately." Luke answers, trying to brush it off. "Luke we know you broke up." Bobby states, not one to beat around the bush. Luke and Alex had dated for a few months, trying to keep it from the rest of the band, but the four boys were a little closer than most. "W-w-what?" "Dude, we've known for like months that you were together. We're not blind." Reggie says. "Alex is still working through some stuff. But you're definitely the most oblivious of us all, Reginald." Luke wasn't one to talk about his feelings, so he took the opportunity to change the subject. "Hey that's rude!" Reggie laughs, not at all offended. He misses Bobby's well placed glare. "Besides, B's worse than me!" "I am not!" He argues. "You both are. Now shut up, I've got to write this song." Luke comments. Reggie closes his eyes and falls asleep pretty much immediately. A known fact about Reggie, the boy can sleep literally anywhere. Usually, it happens so he doesn't get overstimulated, but sometimes he's just tired. Bobby pulls out his phone and puts his headphones in, continuing to play with the other boy's hair. Luke smiles softly at them and continues writing. Sometime later, Luke is snooping around the house and finds a box in Julie's room. Opening it, he takes one piece of paper out before he escapes back to the garage where Reggie has finally woken back up, and is playing around on the acoustic. He doesn't play it often, preferring his bass, but it sounds nice. He's talking to Julie, strumming absentmindedly. "Hey, I need to get home but Jules, you sounded awesome! We had a band meeting earlier, and we want you to join Sunset Curve." "No." Julie had just spent twenty minutes explaining the situation to Bobby and Reggie, but something about Luke just made her so angry, so he didn't deserve an explanation. "You'll join us one day, Molina. See ya Bobby, Reggie." He grabs his stuff and takes his leave. "It's getting late, I should go make sure Carrie didn't burn the house down. I'll pick you both up in the morning." Bobby gathers his stuff, which was scattered around the room before giving Reggie a quick hug from behind. They both blush and Bobby waves at Julie, who'd caught on the dynamic and was trying to play it cool now. "See you tomorrow, B." "Gnight Reg. Bye Julie." "Bye Bobby." Julie turns to her new brother quickly as soon as the door closes. "I thought you said that Alex and Luke were the only ones who were dating in the band? And that they broke up?" "Yeah, Luke and Alex are ex's." "So what's up with you and Bobby then?" "Nothing?" Reggie turns red and messes with his flannel. "No way. You like Bobby? Dude, Bobby's been crushing on you for like ever. I'm pretty sure he had a crush on you when we were six and didn't even know that was a thing." Reggie blinks at her, not comprehending her statement. "I don't know what your talking about, come on, it's time for dinner. I want pizza." Reggie basically runs away. Julie rolls her eyes, she didn't want to deal with more pining, trying to balance Willie's obnoxious crush on Alex and Flynn being in denial about her crush on Carrie, so she'll leave Reggie alone for now. Not for long though, because Julie is a romantic at heart and Reggie is too sweet to not be with who he wants.


	3. The One where Bobby Panics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> panic abounds on all sides

It was an easy routine and soon enough, Reggie had been staying with the Molina's for a month. School was letting out for Thanksgiving in two days, and Reggie had one final project that was due before he was free for the week. The way Los Feliz worked is like this: one mandatory major group project worth a portion of their grades was due three weeks before midterm week, which is the final week before a twenty day break for the winter holidays. Most classes had the due date a week prior to the Thanksgiving break, so that people with accommodations would have apt time to turn it in before the break. Every class was like this, except for English, because of course Reggie had to get the one teacher in school still stuck in the 60s. 

"Reginald, where is your rough draft?" Mrs. Leonard was a plump woman, and it was a running joke that they used her for inspiration for Roz in Monsters Inc. because of her cadence and speech pattern and her glasses that she hasn't upgraded in years. Reggie had previously been tapping out a bassline on his left hand while doodling out his blueprint for the paper. He hadn't written enough for to even be considered an idea at this point. He could never focus in this room, it was too bright and Mrs. Leonard insisted on having two super strong wallflowers plugged in. This is the only class without the band or even Julie, so he has no backup. 

"Mister Forest, I asked you a question!" Mrs. Leonard drops her notebook onto his desk, hard, causing the boy to jump back and wring his hands. He doesn't answer, trying to steady his breathing. "I'm speaking to you. Has that stupid band broken your hearing?" She sneers. By now the whole class is looking at them. Reggie's breath picks up further. 

"I- I- I'm sorry. Didn't hear you. I- I'm t-trying but it it's hard to focus in here." He manages out. Some of the students in the front of the class let out quiet laughs. 

"Well. Let's see it then. I'm tired of your excuses." Reggie shows her the screen which has the assignment page broken up into sections and has his scrawling handwriting all around it. To anyone else, it's a mess of words and little drawings, but Reggie knew what he was going to do for the paper. Mrs. Leonard picks up the tablet and attempts to navigate the pages. After about five minutes of trying to decipher the mess, she gives up and turns back to the boy. 

"Obviously you aren't taking this class seriously, so I'm giving you a zero. Detention after school." She heads back to her desk and puts the detention request in the system.

"But Mrs. Leonard, I am working on the paper! This is just how my brain works. Didn't you read the email from-"  
"I do not want to hear your excuses. Ryan has already gotten his rough draft peer- reviewed twice. Logan has already turned it in. You have had sufficient time to get this paper going and you have no work shown for it." 

Reggie doesn't respond, the angry tone in her voice sending him in a spiral and before she can stop him, Reggie is running out of her class with his things and straight out of school. He ends up on the beach. He sits in the sand listening to the people come and go, watching the waves hits the sand. He doesn't move from his spot until the sun starts to set and he realizes he's been sitting there all day.  
He tries to turn on his phone, which he leaves off during class, but he must've forgotten to charge it again. He makes the trek back to the Molina house, which is a pretty long walk. It allows him to sort of come back to himself, which is what the boys call it when Reggie is coming out of an episode. 

It takes him a good forty minutes to get back to the house. He enters quietly, setting his stuff down and taking off his shoes. Turning around, the band is sitting on the couch looking worried, and Ray is on the phone. Reggie hears Julie in the kitchen with Carlos, probably microwaving dinner. Alex sees him first, jumping up and tackling him in a hug. Luke and Bobby join in right after. 

"Where the hell were you?"  
"The beach. Too loud in Leonard's room. Phone's dead." He manages out, the boys release him and Ray hangs up the phone. 

"Boys, could you give Reggie and I a moment?" The band nods, having spent the last few hours listening to the man stress and worry for their friend. Bobby looks over at Reggie one last time before he went into the kitchen. Ray sits and pats the seat beside him on the couch. 

"What happened today, mijo?" His tone is soft and warm, and Reggie sits.  
"S-she wasn't l-listening and I-I started p-panicking so I left." His voice is small and Ray looks at him for a moment.  
"I understand that it's really hard for you sometimes, but you've been gone for six hours and no one knew where you were. We were so worried about you. What caused you to panic?" Reggie pauses for a moment, trying to figure out how to put the day into words. 

"Our final semester paper is due the day before the break and this week we are working on some rough drafts of it. So I'm sitting there, making my blueprint on my tablet, trying really hard to focus. She walks up to me and decides that since it's not a fully written paper that I'm getting a zero. When I try to correct her and remind her about the accommodation email, she tells me I'm just using excuses and gives me detention. She refuses to unplug her wallflowers and it's way too crowded and overall really loud in that room, but she refuses to believe me when I've tried to explain anything to her. I just couldn't take it today. So I left. I ended up at the beach for a few hours."  
"I’m sorry, Reggie. We’ll figure this out. I’ll call this teacher, set up a meeting with the principal. Just don’t disappear on us again. I was about to have to explain to your case worker and that would’ve complicated things.” Ray says after a moment of thought. "May I hug you? I was really worried." Reggie nods and Ray hugs him slowly. "Go eat." Ray says as he lets go. In the kitchen, Bobby is at the sink and Alex is standing against the counter beside him. "Reggie, man, where were you?" Luke starts. "Down the beach from my grandma's old house." He answers, sitting at the bar where a plate of food is sitting. He begins picking at it, eating slowly, without looking at his friends. "Reggie, charge your phone please. I love you, but I am so stressed out right now. I'll text you tonight. Love you." Alex breaks the silence, having been standing in untapped anxious energy for too long. "I'm sorry Alex. Love you too." Reggie mumbles. He notices that Julie and Luke were both missing, but through the window he sees the light is on in the studio, so he assumes they're out there writing or something. Bobby is leaning against the sink, facing away from him. "Bobby, are you okay?" Reggie asks after a few minutes of awkward silence as he ate. He knew Bobby, and that was his tense- something- is- so- wrong shoulders. He was upset. Reggie was the likely cause. He didn't know how to fix this. Bobby turns to him quickly going from anxious to angry. "NO! Reggie you disappeared and I had no idea where you were. And I was scared. You know better than anyone how I feel about people disappearing on me. I thought Henry- or Loraine had- or worse, that you ran away to fucking Tennessee to start a ranch without me. I just, Reggie. I know it's hard for you sometimes, but you cannot do that to me again. Next time it gets too much, come find me and we'll leave together. But I swear to God, Reginald, you try to ditch me again like that, and I release those awful videos of you murdering the entire genre of country." By the end of his speech, Reggie had finished eating and was staring at him wide- eyed. Reggie stands and Bobby steps closer to him, continuing again. "You can't go breaking your promises, Reg." Suddenly Bobby is impossibly closer to him and Reggie's breathe is in his throat. He doesn't know why. Reggie thought he had his friends pinned completely. He thought he understood his feelings for each: Julie is his sister, Luke and Alex are his brothers, and Bobby is his best friend. All of these feelings are familiar and platonic, right? So why does it feel like his chest is about to burst because Bobby is so close, Reggie can see the flecks of silver in his grey eyes. The boys are standing there, frozen, staring at each other, when the door is opened roughly and Julie is running through, crying. The light is off in the studio now and the boys jump apart and the moment is broken.


	4. The One where Carrie Learns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reggie and Bobby make me so soft.  
> I'm still trying to figure out how to work this site so bear with me  
> Fact, I used to have a teacher like Mrs. Leonard in the last chapter  
> I started this one a whim and almost kept it to where the boys were all ghosts but then I needed Ray and Reggie to hug so it evolved.  
> Also Nick wasn't originally supposed to be apart of the dynamic but I keep running across a lot of Nick/ Reggie and they all make me feel too much.  
> Still haven't decided if I'm bringing Caleb in

In the Wilson house, what Alice Wilson says goes. But the thing about Alice is that she is married to her job first and her husband second. Alice started a company with her best friend when they were 22, and now the company is highly successful. Alice loves her children, but she's never home. Jonathan Wilson loves his wife because she ensures he never has to work. The thing about Jonathan is that he very obviously loves Carrie more than either of his sons. Trevor dealt with this by searching for external validation, which is why when he wasn’t allowed into Sunset Curve and Bobby was, he started getting annoyed so easily at his brother. They may have been technically fraternal twins, but they looked identical for most of their lives. Bobby and Trevor were a complicated duo. Since the day he betrayed them all, they hadn’t spoken, which was a challenging task because they still shared a room. Alice Wilson may have millions, but she refused to uproot her family to flaunt that wealth. 

So of course, after a day of chaos, Trevor had to act up. Carrie had taken over the TV for the night, watching some music awards show. Tonight, their parents were doing their weekly date night. Bobby wanted to eat and then get some homework done and pass out. It had been a long day. 

“Hey Carrie.” 

“Shh Bobby!” The hosts were about to announce the winner or something, so he puts his hands up in defense. Opening the fridge, he pulls out some sandwich making things- ham, cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato. He hums one of Reggie’s country songs as he makes them. Knowing his sister, she’d been obsessing over the show all day and her performance at the end of the week, so he makes her one too, before joining her on the couch. 

“Eat.” He says simply, handing it to her. She smiles when she noticing it’s cut in two without the crust. Around almost every other person Carrie is cold and cruel, but at home, alone, Carrie is funny and a little out there. She’s driven, yes, and people hate an ambitious woman, but she loves crustless sandwiches and dipping her fries in vanilla ice cream and singing Taylor Swift at 3am in a pillow fort with her brothers. 

They hadn’t done that last one in a while. Carrie hollers when whatever singer wins just then and Bobby smiles at her. The peace is broken when the door is slammed open and Trevor blows in like an icy wind. He drops his stuff by the door and notices his siblings on the couch. The award show is over, and now they’re watching an episode of Friends that came on, eating ice cream directing from the tub. Carrie’s legs are thrown over his lap. 

“Hey T.” She greets him. The two of them were still friendly, because Carrie couldn’t cut off either of her brothers. They meant more than the world to her and it broke her heart that they weren’t speaking to each other. 

“Care- bear! They win big?” He asks Carrie, knowing she was super excited to see what happened. She gives him the highlights and motions him to sit. “That’s great, Care. But I’ve got shit to do and I’d rather not be here any longer than necessary.” He glares at Bobby, like he was the one who screwed everything up. “Not with this lowlife taking up room.” He commented, trudging through the house. Bobby scoffs. 

“God he’s a dick.” He mutters, shoveling more ice cream into his mouth. Carrie sighs. 

“Listen, I know he’s like public enemy number 1 to the guys, but he’s your twin. So, he got signed without you. The band is really good, and we will all make it and dominate the charts in our own right. It’s kind of poetic that the youngest of us got their break first.” 

“He doesn’t want you to know, but he bought his way into that show and used Luke’s songs that we hadn’t perfected. He didn’t write a single one of the songs he’s been releasing. I wrote Crooked Teeth. It’s about – You know what. No. Ask him who he wrote it for, who he wrote any of them for. Luke is the songwriter, and he didn’t get one single credit, just a casual ‘that’s my former band’ as if he was ever an official band member and not a glorified roadie. I am so sick of people treating me like the bad guy for not talking to him, when he’s the one who ditched and stole our songs and gave us a bad reputation. I know you have this diplomatic approach to us, but I can’t handle you and him being all buddy- buddy when he hasn’t bothered to apologize. Especially after the day I had.” At this, Bobby is standing up, knocking Carrie to the ground accidentally and stumbling into the kitchen. He angrily speed cleans the kitchen before putting on the noise canceling headphones and pretending to be anywhere besides his house. He finishes his history project before deciding he’s not going be able to finish anything else. He turns off his music first, which he had just loud enough to fully block out everything. Immediately he can hear Carrie’s yelling, though it is muffled. The moment he takes the headphones off and Carrie’s voice is bouncing off the walls. 

“YOU’RE A LIAR AND A PIG, TREVOR JAMES!” There’s a crashing sound and more yelling. Bobby makes his way through the house and stands in the doorway, where Carrie is kicking the living daylights out of Trevor. Bobby grabs Carrie and carries her into her room, shutting her door. 

“Hey, hey, calm down. He isn’t worth it. What’s wrong?” She’s crying and hands him her phone. It’s opened to a group labeled ‘DC Queens’ and he reads the last few messages.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
QueenKay: Care, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you but me and Trevor have been going out for a month now   
QueenCare: He’s been with Allison since last May. You’ve met her? Reggie’s cousin? She was over here literally last night.   
QueenAmes: Yeah Kay, Allison and Trevor and Livvy and I went on a double date last week   
QueenKay: he told me they broke up. He’s been telling me that he’s at the studio or catching up with school or hanging with Bobby whenever he can’t come over.   
QueenCare: he and Bobby haven’t spoken since he got signed. I'm gonna kill him. I’m so sorry   
QueenKay: I gotta go.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“That fucking dick. Ally loves him and Kayla is great. They deserve better. But he’s not worth it. You know he’ll milk this to Mom, and she’ll turn it into a group lecture and force us to spend the weekend at the cabin.” 

“He’s ruining everything.” 

“I know baby, but we’re better than that.” He hugs her tightly and she cries. 

“Will you sleep in here tonight?” She whispers and he nods. Thirty minutes and one shower later, Bobby is plugging his phone into the wall. He crawls into Carrie’s queen size bed and gets comfortable. Carrie turns off the lamp and burrows into her blankets. 

“Love you, bug.” 

“Love you too.” 

In the morning, Carrie wakes Bobby up with a cup of coffee. It’s Friday, so she has a performance this afternoon, but school is a half- day. She hands him the mug and his phone. Carrie is sweet, but only to her brothers and her friends. 

“Morning, bug.”   
“Morning.” He mumbles. “Is Kayla okay?” 

“She’s pissed but she called Ally and they’re meeting up before the spirit rally. Trevor’s going to hate both of us now.” 

“He deserves whatever you have planned. I’m going to get dressed and go pick up Reg. I’ll see you at school.” 

“GO GET YOUR BOYFRIEND!” She yells after him, laughing. Bobby rolls his eyes, trying not to blush and enters the dark bedroom. Trevor must’ve gone to one of his friend’s houses overnight, because his bed was made. Bobby gets ready and texts Reggie to see if he’s coming to school today. Reggie answers immediately with a yes. 

“I’M LEAVING C, BE CAREFUL, YOU’RE GONNA KILL IT.” 

“GO GET YOUR BOO!” 

“SHUT UP!” He grabs his stuff and leaves. His car is parked along the fence line between the Molinas and his house. He unlocks it and tosses his bag in the backseat before heading to the Molinas. Julie is leaving as he walks up, so he waves at her and Flynn, who was sitting her car at the curve. 

“Reg? You ready?” Bobby says as he steps inside the door. The tall boy was tying his shoes and jumps at the voice. 

“Morning. Let’s go!” Reggie launches himself up and slings his bag on in one movement. “Did you eat?” 

“Wasn’t hungry. Carrie made me coffee.” It’s a weirdly wide known fact that if Bobby drinks coffee, he can’t eat for hours afterward. He loves the stuff, but because it suppresses his appetite and makes him a fidgety disaster all day, he rarely drinks it. Carrie loves coffee, she thrives off it, so her making him a cup is her way of sealing an alliance with him, the oldest two together in that house against the liar, against the pig. Everyone who knows Carrie knows that coffee is her apology letter, her way of saying I was wrong and I’m with you, so at these words Reggie looks at him confused. 

“I told her the truth. As it turns out, he’s cheating on Ally with Carrie’s best friend Kayla. They’re planning something for the rally, but you should call her later, see if she’s okay. She won’t want to hear from me since I am cursed with his face.” 

“No. Your face is better.” Reggie mutters, frowning as he crawls into the front seat. “Carrie’s on our side now. That’s good. I’ll call Ally at lunch.” Bobby has to hide his growing grin as he starts the car. They don’t pick up Alex or Luke today, so the duo rides in relative silence. 

At school, they head into their first class, where Nick is sitting with Luke. They say a quick greeting and slide into their normal seats. Reggie turns to Nick while Bobby talks to Luke. 

“Have you finally finished unpacking?” Reggie asks, teasing the blond. It was well known that Nick was procrastinating unpacking his room. His family had lived in LA for a couple of months now, and the rest of the house was fully decorated and unpacked, except for Nick’s room. 

“Dude no, I just opened the last boxes but I haven’t unpacked anything else. Dad says I have to do it this weekend. Can’t leave the house until it’s done.” Nick frowns. 

“Want some help? I happen to rock at organization.” Reggie offers.   
“You would do that?” 

“Yeah. Sure. It’ll be fun.” Nick smiles at him and Alex is running in. The boy is obviously flustered, so Reggie immediately turns to him, firing off questions in rapid succession. Alex stumbles through a response but the bell is ringing before he tells them about his morning. The day goes by quickly and Carrie is searching for her brother’s band. They’re covering a song from the show Victorius because it fits the situation so perfectly. Carrie knew the band could play it, and she just had to convince Bobby to play the keyboard part. The Wilson’s knew how to play multiple instruments, but Bobby was the only one that stuck with piano after their tenth birthday. 

“HEY REGINALD! WAIT UP!” Reggie turns around and looks at the blonde, confused. Nick stops with him. 

“Oh, hey Carrie.” 

“Where’s your boyfriend? I need a favor from him and you and the rest of the band.” Nick frowns at this. 

“Alex was having a crisis so Luke took him off campus. They are picking up something for us. Bobby’s grabbing a table outside. Nick forgot something in his locker, but we’re heading out now. You can come with.” Reggie pretends not to have heard her first comment, trying not to think about what she actually meant. 

“Well let’s go then, gentlemen.” Carrie laces her arms through Nick’s right arm and Reggie’s left arm, and the trio enters the outside lunch plaza. Bobby was sitting alone, at the band’s usual table. He smiles when he sees the three walking towards him.


End file.
